Asian / Pacific American Heritage Month

Asian / Pacific American Heritage Month is celebrated during the month of May in commemoration of the achievements and contributions of people of Asian and Pacific Islander descent in the United States of America. The month of May's significance is that the first Japanese immigrants arrived in the United States on 7 May, 1843, and the transcontinental railroad that many Chinese laborers helped to construct was completed on 10 May, 1869. Asian / Pacific American Heritage Month was originally created by a Congressional Resolution on 5 October, 1978 as Asian / Pacific American Heritage Week (Public Law 96-419). It was later expanded to encompass the whole month with the unanimous passing of Public Law 102-450 on 28 October, 1992. The navigation bar contains a link to a list of links about Asian / Pacific American Heritage Month.

In addition, the Government Documents/Maps collection has many relevant resources online, in microfiche and in documents. The navigation bar contains a list of these resources.